Tag Archives: design

Are you passionate about design, fashion and jewelry? Is your inner child urging to reveal itself? Then the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris is a must for you. Located in the Louvre’s western wing, the Arts Déco, as Parisians call it, is not as famous as its grand cousin. Yet this institution is highly respected for its impressive collection of more than 150,000 design objects shown in an educative and playful manner.

By the way, does the Musée des Arts Décoratifs ring a bell? The beautiful fashion retrospective I told you about is being held there (read part 1 and part 2). And if you’d like to have a look at my post on the Louvre, just click here!

I’d like to thank Olivine of Sur les Pavés de Paris for making me want to rediscover this museum and I strongly encourage Lani of Mon Petit Chouchou to stroll through it during her upcoming trip to Paris.

Animal is one of the current exhibitions at the Arts Déco. Curated with the support of Hermès, it shows how animals have inspired design in a great variety of ways, whether luxurious or artistic, historical or playful.

Shoes for human feet and animal feet for furniture. This model was designed by Maison Martin Margiela.

I discovered the work of François-Xavier and Claude Lalanne, the sculptors who created this rhino-desk, through the auction of Yves Saint Laurent’s art collection. The master of couture was one of their most loyal buyers.

These animal masks creep me out a bit as they remind me of George Orwell’s Animal Farm (a fabulous read that I highly recommend).

And let’s not forget our Disney childhood crushes.

The permanent collection displays a mind-blowing number of objects dating from the Middle Age up to now. As the most relevant witnesses of past everyday life and trends, each one of them makes us travel through time.

Chairs, chairs, everywhere! It is amusing to see how such a functional piece of furniture has evolved through centuries and decades. This one for example seems to be inspired by the 1974 cult movie Emmanuelle – minus the eroticism.

The Zig-zag chair by Israeli designer Ron Arad. Or should I say throne?

Not a chair, but still an interesting piece of furniture: Marc Newson’s Pod of Drawers.

Another good reason to visit the Musée des Arts Décoratifs? Gorgeous views of Paris from the top floors.

The Tuileries gardens. Can you spot the Musée d’Orsay, the Invalides and the Eiffel Tower?

An exhibit of ceramic art was on show until last month. The museum followed the controversial French trend of displaying contemporary art in older settings. This piece reminds me of Polanski’s movie Repulsion when hands appear out of the walls to attack Catherine Deneuve’s character.

The hands in the cage are a true surrealistic piece of art, like a dream to interpret.

To end on a fun note, here is the Toy Gallery.

No animals were harmed in the making of this exhibit.

Don’t tell me you wouldn’t have thrown a tantrum for these toys some years ago. And now we lust over Chanel bags and Louboutins. My, how times have changed…

The Musée des Arts Décoratifs is probably one of my favorite museums to visit along with London’s Tate Modern. How about you? Is there a place dedicated to art that you particularly enjoy?

In my post on Christian Dior, I asked you which designer’s or artist’s home you dream of visiting. If I had to answer myself, I would say Yves Saint Laurent’s apartment in Paris. In February 2009, I had the chance to see the works of art that belonged to him on show at the Grand Palais just before they were auctioned away. The 3 hours of waiting outside in the cold were worth it: the magnificent art collection Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé built over several decades was unique by its size (650 pieces), its eclecticism and its prestige. One painting in particular caught my eye: a black and white abstract piece by Mondrian (which looks much better seen in person). Alas, it was auctioned for more than $18.5 million, which is bit above my budget to say the least. Is there a work of art you wish you had just for yourself?

The Biennale des Antiquaires reminded me of the Yves Saint Laurent exhibition as it celebrated refinement, luxury and a rare form of art de vivre in the Grand Palais, with 87 art galleries, antique dealers and luxury houses displaying their finest objects for a week in September. Here are some of my finds that I wanted to share with you.

One of my favorite exhibitors was L&M Arts for its selection of post-war and contemporary art, like this little monster by Takashi Murakami. Based in New York City, L&M Arts recently opened a space in Los Angeles.

L&M Arts - Kandinsky

L&M Arts - Jean Dubuffet

L&M Arts - Drawing by Andy Warhol

Here is another personal favorite: London-based Richard Nagy specializes in works by Egon Schiele and German expressionists.

Standing nude with large hat, 1910. Schiele drew this portrait of his sister when he was 20 years old. The drawing sold for $1.6 million at Sotheby’s in 2007. / Schiele a dessiné ce portrait de sa sœur à l'âge de 20 ans. Ce dessin a été vendu à $1,6 million par Sotheby’s en 2007.

While Schiele’s works are remarkable for their intriguing beauty, I love these drawings which seem to come straight out of a gothic fairy tale.

The perfect furniture if your apartment has a château theme.

Or a church theme?

Antiques from faraway lands

A section of the Biennale was dedicated to high jewelry with brands like Cartier, Christian Dior and Van Cleef showing their most precious items. Unfortunately cameras were forbidden in this area and security was very high. I still managed to take pictures of these Chanel windows. Isn’t the gold bracelet with diamonds and pearls a beauty?

I find it fascinating that most of these museum-worthy pieces will end up in private collections, don’t you?